One pair this month

May seemed a little slow in the knitting department. I got to use up a lot of scraps on other projects, but was only able to get one pair of socks on and off the needles.



These are tidal wave socks in Socka: Stahl sche Wolle

Two Pair

This month I finished 2 pair of socks. Yay!

Pattern: Hippy Ripply Retro Socks
Yarn: Crazy4Dyeing SlenderSock in Slytherin
Supplier: HSS3 package
Needles: US Size 1 / 2.25 mm
Blogged here

Yarn: Knit Picks Sock Garden in Holly Berries (discontinued)
Supplier: Somerville Yarn Swap
Pattern: Two At Once Toe-Up Socks
Needles: US Size 1 / 2.5 mm
Blogged here

Maybe I will actually knit down the sock stash someday...

Done, done, DONE --- One for May

After a very difficult time, including breaking my yarn with a hammer -- my Jawoll Color Aktion socks are finished.

The striping turned out almost identical in spite of my issues with self-caused breakage. Geez ... sometimes I can be such a klutz.

However --- one more skein is out of the stash and come next winter, I'll have a great pair of socks to wear.

Just the facts:

Yarn: Jawoll Color Aktion 100
Needles: Susan Bates Size 1
Pattern: Plain stockinette over 64 stitches

Now, it's on to a fancier sock for June (or maybe a second pair for May if I leave the hammer alone).

Reporting In - Finally

It would seem that I dropped off the map for a while. Life wasn't good to me the past 6 weeks.

My grandmother-in-law was hospitalized in late March. She hadn't been well for a while, but knowing someone you love is dying is not something you can deal with all that well. On April 2nd, she went to her final rest. This was a difficult time for me, because many of the issues she had in her final days were the same as my father's when in passed in 2002. The anniversary of his passing was on March 26th, and Grandma had been in the hospital several days at this point. Much of the guilt and loss I felt when he passed came back to me when I was trying to comfort my mother-in-law. It really screwed with my head.

On the upside, I had a cruise to look forward to. It became a very frustrating working vacation with a laptop that I wanted to throw overboard every day and a co-worker who completely dropped the ball while I was gone. I enjoyed the trip very much, but I didn't get the rest and relaxation I needed. In fact, the day we got home, I slept nearly 16 hours. That shouldn't happen.

The icing on the cake happened when I got back. I thought I had "weathered" the storm at work, but last week on Monday I was informed that my contract would be changed. They want me to stay on as an advisor, I will continue to accrue stock, but they can't afford to pay me anymore. Such is the life with a startup. When they are able to turn around the income stream in a few months, they would love to have me back, but they're cutting expenses across the board. In other words - I'm out of a job. Again.

I haven't posted any of this on my personal blog, because family and co-workers read it on a regular basis, and I'm just not ready to get into this with them at this point. Especially my mom. Even thought she doesn't have internet access, her sister does and reads the blog. My mother-in-law reads it too. I can't deal with the calls of concern and sympathy at this point. I'm still too ticked off.

So, that's been my life since mid-March. My apologies that I have been MIA for the KAL, but I had so little time to myself over the last month or so, a lot of things slipped by the wayside. I'd been working about 10 to 11 hours a day, not including my 2 hour daily commute. Even when I transitioned my responsibilities to others last week (no , I didn't tell them to stick it and walk out), I worked long days to get everything in order. That's just the way that I am. Sadly, though, there are few jobs out there under the heading of Director of Lending Operations, or Mortgage Operations Specialist. Yes - I work in the mortgage industry. No, I never sold a bad loan or caused anyone to go into foreclosure. I'm one of the good guys that told people they couldn't afford that loan on what they made. The industry that I have been in for 16 years in going down the old crapper, and the majority of the blame is going to the mortgage brokers. We didn't loan the money, but we're being regulated right out of business. I'm a little passionate on the subject - sorry.

Oh - and I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes too. Giving up chocolate is no big deal. Giving up bagels and crackers has been more difficult than giving up smoking!

I'm going to look for work closer to home. I love San Francisco, but I can't take as much as I used to. I get tired more easily now, due to the Diabetes I found out. No more 5-6 hours of sleep a night for me! But endeavors such as this will be seeing more of my time again. I appreciate all those who have stuck it out.

The theme for this month - May Flowers, in other words, colors associated with flowers. I thought that would be fun - and bright!

One final thought - knitting kept me sane through these last couple of months. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had that to keep me in balance.

I finished some socks too. Go take a look here, here and here. I got through round 2 of Sock Madness, and also finished a pair in Noro's Sock yarn (I need to write a review on that). My sock knitting did not falter!

Easy ribs

Was able to finish a pair of easy 2x2 rib socks in trekking. I thought they would come out much different than how the skein looked. There is a llot of pink and baby blue in this skein. Socks worked up fairly quick and now I can work on a nother pair!!

FINISHED!!

started Mar 25

finished April 19

Regia plus Cotton

navy & black tweed = # 50

my pattern

2.25 mm circs for cuff

2.5 for foot

March Progress

I didn't do much during the month of March. And I acquired WAY more sock yarn than I used up lol. In my defense I have been knitting on my lace more and my Tangled Yoke cardigan.

I finished one of my Serendipity socks from the January Rockin Sock Club shipment. I'm working on the second now.I also finished a pair of socks from my own handspun. I wear them every night to bed, they are nice and warm!
So not much, but something is better than nothing! Plus with all of my sock clubs, I've got many more pairs to start, and the next three are amazingly all green!